Exploring the challenges in implementing supplier environmental performance measurement models: a case study

This study aims to explore the challenges associated with implementing supplier environmental performance measurement models in context of a global supply chain. After a thorough literature review on the topic, a case study-based research methodology is adopted to investigate the real-life perspective of the issues encountered while evaluating the supplier performance in a sustainable supply chain. An in-depth study of one of the biggest fast-moving consumer goods companies in UK is discussed and analysed in this paper. Findings of this research will pave the way for developing a robust, efficient and usable environmental performance measurement framework in a supply chain

US public support for vaccine donation to poorer countries in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic

Background: During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the global health community sought to make vaccine available "in developing nations in the same timeframe as developed nations." However, richer nations placed advance orders with manufacturers, leaving poorer nations dependent on the quantity and timing of vaccine donations by manufacturers and rich nations. Knowledge of public support for timely donations could be important to policy makers during the next pandemic. We explored what the United States (US) public believes about vaccine donation by its country to poorer countries. Methods and Findings: We surveyed 2079 US adults between January 22 nd and February 1 st 2010 about their beliefs regarding vaccine donation to poorer countries. Income (p = 0.014), objective priority status (p = 0.005), nativity, party affiliation, and political ideology (p<0.001) were significantly related to views on the amount of vaccine to be donated. Though party affiliation and political ideology were related to willingness to donate vaccine (p<0.001), there was bipartisan support for timely donations of 10% of the US vaccine supply so that those "at risk in poorer countries can get the vaccine at the same time" as those at risk in the US. Conclusions: We suggest that the US and other developed nations would do well to bolster support with education and public discussion on this issue prior to an emerging pandemic when emotional reactions could potentially influence support for donation. We conclude that given our evidence for bipartisan support for timely donations, it may be necessary to design multiple arguments, from utilitarian to moral, to strengthen public and policy makers' support for donations. © 2012 Kumar et al

ENHANCING WEB CONFERENCING PRIVACY PROTECTION

With the prevalence of remote work, it is possible that a significant amount of highly confidential or restricted data may be shared and discussed over virtual meeting applications. The most vulnerable point during a highly confidential (or casual, off-the-record) meeting is each individual\u27s client, which could allow a user to record the screen or take a series of screenshots. Presently, solutions exist that either allow complete recording of the screen, including the meeting windows, or no recording at all. However, there is no solution that enables the complete functionality of other windows or applications while blocking the meeting content alone. To address the types of challenges that were described above, techniques are presented herein that support selectively blocking only the vulnerable sections of a screen in a non-intrusive way thus ensuring both user convenience and privacy protection

PHYTOCHEMICAL AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF EXTRACT OF PORTULACA QUADRIFIDA LINN.

Objective: Portulaca quadrifida L. is an herbal medicinal plant known for its therapeutics values in urinary and inflammatory disorders. Leaves areuseful in dysentery; the plant can also act as an antihelminthic. The current study dealt to provide details information about Portulaca quadrifida L.including pharmacognostic and phytochemical analysis.Methods: Current investigation involve quality control characterization of plant Portulaca quadrifida L. The plant extract evaluated for phytochemicaland chromatographic analysis. HPLC fingerprint was carried out, which can be used for correct identification of the plant.Results: The plant extract contains alkaloids, tannins, terpenoid and steroid. The present study provides evidence that solvent extract of Portulacaquadrifida L. contain medicinally important bioactive compounds.Conclusion: The present study provides evidence that solvent extract of plant contains medicinally important bioactive compounds and this justifiesthe use of plant species as traditional medicine for treatment of various diseases.Keywords: Portulaca quadrifida L., Phytochemical, Medicinal plant, High-performance liquid chromatography

Multivariate analysis in rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasms for yield attributing traits

A study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity and relationships among sixty rice genotypes by assessing eleven morphological yield traits using principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis at ANDUAT, Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), India. The results found significant variation among the genotypes, with some exhibiting higher values for certain traits which confirm genetic diversity. Cluster analysis revealed that Cluster V had the highest number of genotypes, while Cluster IV had the highest intra-cluster distance, suggesting that these genotypes would be useful for rice improvement. Principal component analysis revealed that the first two principal components, along with three other components, accounted for 75.11 percent of the total variability. Days to 50% flowering (DFF) in days was identified as the most accurate predictor of variability, followed by days to maturity (DM) in days, 1000 seed weight (TSW) in gm, and panicle length (PL) in cm. The principal component to be first (PC1) was linked with plant height (PH) and harvest index (HI) in gm, the second principal component (PC2) was linked with DFF and DM, the third (PC3) was linked with TSW and grains/panicle (GP) in number, the fourth (PC4) with panicles bearing per plant (PBP) in number and biological yield per plant (BY) in gramme, and the fifth principal component (PC5) is linked with PL and BY. The study identified several promising genotypes for various traits, including G.35, G.17, G.30, G.45, and G.46 for short plant height and G.60, G.40, G.54, G.55, and G.41 for high yield

Constructing micro-nano rod-shaped iron-molybdenum oxide heterojunctions to enhance overall water electrolysis

\ua9 2024 Elsevier Ltd. In this study, we describe the development of ferromolybdenum oxide (FeMoO), which is a heterojunction characterized by a rod-like structure. The synergistic interactions of iron, molybdenum are rod structures enhanced structural defects, mitigated individual component limitations, and improved material performance by optimizing structural configurations and electronic properties. Furthermore, the materials exploited electronic interactions at interfaces composed of different phases. Due to their nano structures with high active surface and optimization of the abundance of active sites, the rod-like FeMoO demonstrated remarkable efficiency for both oxygen and hydrogen evolution, exhibiting low overpotentials of 228 mV and 61 mV, respectively, at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. Moreover, assembling FeMoO as both the anode and cathode FeMoO || FeMoO required a cell voltage of 1.49 V to drive 10 mA cm−2 in an alkaline solution, and this performance persisted for 450 h without significant voltage drop. We established a promising synthetic pathway for the development of dual-transition-metal-based (Fe and Mo) nanorod-like heterostructured electrocatalysts to significantly advance energy conversion technology, holding promise for enhanced water electrolysis applications

Visualising apoptosis in live zebrafish using fluorescence lifetime imaging with optical projection tomography to map FRET biosensor activity in space and time

Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) combined with optical projection tomography (OPT) has the potential to map Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) readouts in space and time in intact transparent or near transparent live organisms such as zebrafish larvae, thereby providing a means to visualise cell signalling processes in their physiological context. Here the first application of FLIM OPT to read out biological function in live transgenic zebrafish larvae using a genetically expressed FRET biosensor is reported. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is mapped in 3-D by imaging the activity of a FRET biosensor that is cleaved by Caspase 3, which is a key effector of apoptosis. Although apoptosis is a naturally occurring process during development, it can also be triggered in a variety of ways, including through gamma irradiation. FLIM OPT is shown here to enable apoptosis to be monitored over time, in live zebrafish larvae via changes in Caspase 3 activation following gamma irradiation at 24 hours post fertilisation. Significant apoptosis was observed at 3.5 hours post irradiation, predominantly in the head region

Lipid profile in oral submucous fibrosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Changes in lipid profile have long been associated with malignancies as lipids play a key role in maintenance of cell integrity. This study evaluated the alterations in extended lipid profile in untreated patients of oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) and studied the correlation between lipid levels with tobacco consumption.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>In this hospital-based study, 65 clinically diagnosed and histopathologically proven patients of OSMF and 42 age and sex matched controls were studied. In these samples serum lipids including: (i) Total cholesterol, (ii) LDL cholesterol (LDLC), (iii) HDL cholesterol (HDLC) (iv) VLDL cholesterol (VLDLC) (v) triglycerides (vi) Apo-A1 (viii) Apo-B and (viii) LPa were analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant decrease in plasma total cholesterol, HDLC and Apo-A1 was observed in patients with OSMF as compared to the controls. Thus an inverse relationship between plasma lipid levels and patients was found in OSMF.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The lower levels of plasma cholesterol and other lipid constituents in patients might be due to their increased utilization. The findings strongly warrant an in-depth study of alterations in plasma lipid profile in patients with oral precancerous conditions.</p

Characterization of stem rust resistance gene Sr2 in Indian wheat varieties using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based molecular markers

Stem rust or black rust is one of the most important diseases of wheat worldwide. In India, central, peninsular and southern hill zones are particularly prone to stem rust where favourable environmental conditions exist. The recent emergence of wheat stem rust race Ug99 (TTKSK) and related strains threatens global wheat production as Ug99 overcome resistance gene Sr31 effective for many years. Resistance gene Sr2, derived from cultivar ‘Hope’ is responsible for slow rusting and providing partial but durable resistance against stem rust of wheat. In addition to other unknown minor genes (Sr2 complex), this gene tends to be non-specific and is currently effective against all isolates of Puccinia graminis tritici throughout wheat-growing regions of the world. A set of 135 bread wheat varieties developed in the last forty years for prominent northern, central, peninsular and southern hill regions of India was screened with molecular markers, CsSr2 and GWM533, developed and identified for Sr2 gene. Out of 135 varieties screened, 92 confirmed the presence of Sr2 gene at molecular level. The molecular information of Sr2 gene was corroborated with the available morphological marker data for selected varieties to evaluate the efficacy of these molecular markers in Indian wheat germplasm. It was observed that these two molecular markers in combination provide accuracy in 92% lines for this gene at molecular level with presumed Sr2 status in Indian wheat varieties. It is proposed that the use of CsSr2 and GWM533 will help in gene pyramiding of Sr2 along with other stem rust resistance genes in future wheat varieties to accelerate Indian breeding program for rust resistance.Keywords: Wheat, stem rust, Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici (Pgt), Sr2 gene, molecular markerAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(18), pp. 2353-235